News Archive for April 15, 2012

Overheard
In the oil industry, it isn't curiosity that kills cats—it is nationalization. Argentina's government should remember that as it toys with the idea of seizing control of oil major YPF.Neighbor Venezuela has experience in these matters. When Caracas began exerting control over foreign majors' oil assets in the early 1970s, it set off a vicious spiral. As detailed in Dan Yergin's "The Prize," the oil majors slowed investment in response. This reduced the country's production capacity, which then prompted further nationalist measures against the major oil companies. As one Exxon manager put itat the time: "We were not feeding the kitty cat, and then they were complaining that the kitty cat is dying."Venezuela's kitty didn't die, but it sure fell sick. Oil output fell 31% between 1973 and 1976. The decline didn't bottom out until 1985.When Venezuela loosened rules on foreign participation, output jumped 55% between 1990 and 1998, when Hugo Chávez was elected president. Under his watch, output has dropped 28%.Argentina's wants to make YPF feed the kitty. But milking the industry relentlessly is ultimately a route to starvation.overheard@wsj.com

Carlyle Cautious in IPO Pricing
Carlyle Group plans to sell 30.5 million shares priced between $23 and $25 in its initial public offering, valuing the firm toward the lower end of what had been expected.

Romney Specifies Deductions He'd Cut
Mitt Romney said he would eliminate or limit for high-earners the mortgage-interest deduction for second homes, as well as the state income-tax deduction and state property-tax deduction.

Asia in Pictures
People celebrate New Year in Nepal, soldiers parade to mark the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung in North Korea, Formula One driver Nico Rosberg gets his first victory in Shanghai and more.

Modest Recovery Seen for Brazil Sugar Cane Crop
The slow recovery could interfere with the country's plans to maintain its 50% share of the global sugar trade while keeping up with domestic ethanol fuel demand.

Newark, Team Walked Away From Fee Deals
Newark Mayor Cory Booker has blamed the New Jersey Devils for the loss of millions in rent and parking fees. But city officials had several chances to sign agreements that may have resulted in a better deal.

Charity in Taxes Tussle
A town in upstate New York is bracing for a fight after its largest private taxpayer—the group behind the car-donation program Kars 4 Kids—applied to be exempted from real-estate taxes on the grounds it is a charity.

An Artist Immortalizes His Father
Max Ferguson spent decades painting hyper-realist portraits of his father around New York City, as both a tribute and as an illustration of the passage of time and the transience of life.

Violence Erupts After Anarchist Book Fair
A group took to the streets Saturday night following an anarchist book fair and allegedly used pipes, bottles and physical force during a scuffle with police officers outside of a Starbucks coffee shop in the East Village, police said.

An Axis of the International Scene
I've long loitered in the shadow of Richard Gardner—not that he or Columbia had any idea about this when the law school invited me to a conference to honor the professor upon his retirement.

Elephants Now Think Twice About Midnight Snacks in Tanzania
Night raids by hungry elephants can quickly wipe out an entire field of maize or other crops and obliterate all the work of a subsistence farmer. But African villagers have found that a whiff of chili pepper sends those pachyderms packing.

Trial Starting for Mother, Grandmother in Child Abuse Case
A mother and grandmother charged in connection with the brutal death of a 4-year-old Brooklyn girl are set to face trial Monday in a case that has again focused scrutiny on the city's child welfare agency.

GM's Mr. Fix-It Tackles Opel Mess
General Motors' European operations are bleeding money and getting worse. Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky is in the hot seat as the company's point man for cleaning up the mess.

Smiles, Sequins for Broadway Star
At "Sleep No More," the Kardashian/Kanye theater of choice, 75 friends and fans of the Tony and Academy Award-winning actor Joel Grey gathered before midnight to celebrate the end of his 80th birthday.

Poultry Suppliers Clucking Over Dark Meat Demand
Rising demand for dark-meat chicken by home gourmets and restaurant chefs has breeders flapping around for more supply, and helping lift the poultry business out of a deep slump.

Going Green at Christie's
When it comes to saving the planet, why support just one environmental charity when you can support four? That was the thinking behind Christie's third annual "BID to Save the Earth" auction last week.

Citrus Disease Stirs Anxiety
California's $2 billion citrus industry is bracing for the spread of a crop-killing disease after an infected tree was discovered in the yard of a suburban Los Angeles home.

Diving Into Gowanus
Derek Buckner's series of paintings, "City Views," came about through his wandering around the neighborhoods between his Carroll Gardens home and his Gowanus studio, looking for buildings where he could get up on the roof and set up his easel.

Tip of the Day
Two months ago, Arsenal was locked in a fierce four-way battle to achieve a top-four finish in the English Premier League standings and secure a berth in next season's UEFA Champions League tournament.

Lenders Fear Impact of New Mortgage Rule
U.S. mortgage lenders and real-estate agents are growing concerned a new set of mortgage-lending standards under development by a new consumer regulator will imperil the fledgling housing recovery and limit the availability of home loans.

What's the Deal
Landlords with big blocks of space to fill should check their mailboxes in the next couple of weeks: Time Warner, which is searching for 4 million square feet of space, plans at last to send out its requests for proposals.

Vying for Viacom's Offices
Entertainment giant Viacom Inc., which moved to Times Square in the early 1990s when it was still a rough neighborhood, is considering a possible move in what would be one of the most closely watched deals in the commercial real-estate industry.

Conflict in Park Plans
Brooklyn Bridge Park, which opened its first phase in 2010, is scheduled to open a new pier and a footbridge between Brooklyn Heights and the waterfront park later this year. But a storm is raging in the design community over the plan for the half-completed park.

North Korea Celebrates
North Korea's new leader addressed his nation for the first time Sunday, vowing to place top priority on the military, which promptly unveiled a new long-range missile as the nation celebrated the birth centennial of its founder.

Famed Investor Seeds New Fund
Well-known investor Julian Robertson plans to put tens of millions of dollars into a global macro fund launched by Trient Asset Management, a firm co-founded by a former head of Norway's sovereign wealth fund, in a bet that the global economic rebound will fall short of investors' expectations.

For Knicks, One Bright Star Isn't Enough to Beat Heat
Anthony scored 42 points on Sunday afternoon, but the Knicks lost to the Heat 93-85 in a game in which the Heat had its entire Big Three operating against the Knicks' Big One.

House Incumbents Have Financial Edge
A review of first-quarter fundraising reports filed through Sunday showed that Republican candidates in many of the closest races have raised more money and have more funds in the bank than their Democratic opponents.

Tornadoes Skip Across Midwest
Officials credited unusual early warnings about tornado threats for minimizing the loss of life when dozens of tornadoes churned through the center of the U.S. over the weekend.

Egypt Candidates to Appeal Exclusion
Three of the most prominent and divisive frontrunners in Egypt's presidential elections were preparing Sunday to appeal their exclusions from presidential elections scheduled for next month.

New Violence Tests Syrian Cease-Fire
Syrian government forces fired artillery shells into opposition areas of Homs on Sunday, as sporadic violence tested a fragile four-day-old cease-fire, even as the first United Nations monitors arrived in Damascus.

The Silver Arrow Hits Its Target in Shanghai
German Nico Rosberg won the Grand Prix of China in Shanghai Sunday. It was the first win by the Mercedes team in Formula 1 since Juan Manuel Fangio triumphed at the Italian Grand Prix in 1955.

Top Banker Calls for IMF Boost
Top ECB official Jörg Asmussen called on the rest of the world to pledge more money to the IMF's crisis war chest, a view expected to put Europe at odds with other regions at talks in Washington later this week.

Chimps Star in Disney Nature Film
Disneynature's "Chimpanzee," shot over four years, follows a baby chimp named Oscar and his family as they live, hunt and defend their lands in Ivory Coast's Taï National Park. It is set to open Friday, April 20.

Taking a Spin Through Pony Cars
Ford is working on a redesign of the Mustang—the pony car that launched an era of affordable and compact sports cars—to draw in young buyers. See signature pony cars of Ford and its competitors.

Food Network Service to Offer Reservations
Scripps Networks Interactive, which owns the Food Network and other cable channels, is starting a competitor to OpenTable's online restaurant-reservation service.

Sarkozy Embraces Growth Role for ECB
France's President Sarkozy said in an about-face that if re-elected in May he would push for the European Central Bank to actively support economic growth, and not limit its role to taming inflation.

Growth Niche in Serious Cameras
Panasonic, Sony and Olympus, struggling in the point-and-shoot camera market, are refashioning bulky professional cameras into sleeker, mirrorless models that appeal to photo enthusiasts, posing a challenge to Canon and Nikon.

Drugs, Cuba Divide Summit
President Barack Obama concluded a summit of Western Hemisphere leaders Sunday, leaving with the message that Latin America is growing increasingly perturbed over two U.S. policies: the international drug war and the isolation of Cuba.

Tesco to Detail Strategy Overhaul
Tesco's CEO will lay out details of how he plans to halt the supermarket giant's stuttering performance following its shock profit warning, as it faces calls to return to its roots.

Forecast Heat Prompts Boston Marathon Warning
A forecast for intense heat during Monday's Boston Marathon prompted race officials to issue dire warnings over the weekend, along with the offer of a deferment for runners willing to wait until next year.

Clemens Up at Bat in Perjury Retrial
Roger Clemens heads back to federal court in Washington Monday to face perjury charges, a trial with much at stake for both the pitching great and for the public's perception of steroid abuse in baseball.

Copper on Brink of Losing Price Edge
As copper miners, consumers, investors and bank analysts meet this week, they will be debating whether tight supplies will continue to give miners leverage in negotiating sales, or if a slowdown in China could tip the market into a surplus sooner than expected.

'Hunger Games' Keeps Lead
"The Hunger Games" continued to dominate the movie box office, edging out newcomers such as "The Three Stooges" to become the first film since 2009's "Avatar" to earn the top spot for four consecutive weeks.

Bullion Bulls Pull Back
Gold's star is shining a little less brightly in the eyes of some admirers. Deep into the 12th year of a historic rally, fans are wondering whether the metal is due for a pause. Gold is down 7% from its peak for the year in late February.

Sudan, South Move Troops to Border
Sudan and South Sudan on Sunday moved more troops to an ill-defined border town, foreshadowing a bloodier conflict between the neighbors over a disputed oil-rich region.

Canada's Health Care Has Its Points, but . . .
Reader Leon Mitrani (Letters, April 12) finds fault with your editorial ("Canada Beats America," April 4), claiming that Canada's government-run health care has been a plus for the Canadian economy. The many "Je me souviens" license plates in the parking garage at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston demonstrate that.

End of Paper Bonds Changes Family Gifts
Our family used to go to the bank and buy bonds to commemorate birthdays and other significant events for our grandchildren ("Bonding Experience Is Lost as a Traditional Gift Disappears," page one, April 12).

Paul Ryan Is Offering a Serious Plan
Regarding your editorial "Paul Ryan's Hunger Games" (April 4): President Obama can't base his reelection campaign on his record. His hopes for a second term have devolved to reprising a fact-limited demonization of his opposition.

Let's Give the Arabs Credit, as Bush Did
Matthew Kamiski's "Islamists Inside the Gates" (op-ed, April 11) reminds me of George W. Bush's speech: "People from the Middle East share a high civilization, a religion of personal responsibility and a need for freedom as deep as our own. It is not realism to suppose that one-fifth of humanity is unsuited to liberty. It is pessimism and condescension, and we should have none of it."

Q&A: ECB Board Member Jörg Asmussen
European Central Bank board member Jörg Asmussen sat down with Brian Blackstone and Andreas Kissler in the Wall Street Journal's Berlin offices Friday. He discussed funding for the International Monetary Fund, Europe's debt crisis and the need for fiscal austerity.

Europe's Reform Pact Means Little
Martin Feldstein ("Europe Needs the Bond Vigilantes," op-ed, April 5) points out the ambiguities of the European fiscal compact, for allowing extraordinary leeway to public bodies under "exceptional circumstances" can basically open the door to anything.

Be Careful What You Wish For: ObamaCare and the Court
egarding your editorial "Assailing the Supreme Court" (April 2): If the Supreme Court rejects the ObamaCare mandate but not the rest of the 2,700-page law, the left will scream, but may end up with the best of all worlds

Changes in Income Inequality and Economic Growth
Phil Gramm and Steve McMillin ("The Real Causes of Income Inequality," op-ed, April 6) claim that income was more equally distributed in the U.S. during the Carter administration than at any other time in the past century.

Why Airport Security Is Broken—And How to Fix It
Air travel would be safer if we allowed knives, lighters and liquids on board and focused on disrupting new terror plots. A former head of the Transportation Security Administration, Kip Hawley, on embracing risk.

EU Logistics Sector Is Hot Spot for Deals
Deal activity in Europe's logistics sector is heating up, as United Parcel Service's purchase of smaller rival TNT Express last month demonstrated that players in this industry are starting to spend.

Guns N' Roses Agrees: This Finnish Guy Rocks
Matti Fagerholm may be one the world's most respected, yet least famous, rock stars. He's also part of a Finnish government program that promotes metal bands abroad.

Why Chuck's Future Has Big Potential
Charles Schwab Corp. is expected to post a decline in first-quarter earnings, but the firm is well positioned for much better results when the ultralow-interest-rate environment finally ends. .

U.K. Adds Pressure To EU on Myanmar
Cameron's call to suspend sanctions against Myanmar, which was quickly backed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, will likely put further pressure on the EU to review its restrictions on trade ties with the former military state.

Geithner Rebuts Romney on Women
Timothy Geithner dismissed as "ridiculous and deeply misleading" recent comments from Mitt Romney that 92.3% of jobs lost during the Obama administration were held by women.

Haitong Securities Expands IPO
Haitong Securities has increased the number of shares it will sell through a Hong Kong listing, boosting the potential size of its initial public offering to US$1.77 billion from around US$1.5 billion. If the deal goes through, it would be the biggest IPO so far this year.

Belarus Pardons Opposition Activists
Two leading opposition activists in Belarus were pardoned and freed from prison after 16 months of escalating Western pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko to end a broad crackdown on dissent.

Remembering the Titanic, in Photos
One hundred years ago, the "unsinkable" ship hit an iceberg and vanished into the depths of the Atlantic. We are familiar with what the ship looked like. Now, take a look at images from the aftermath.

Kim Jong Eun Makes First Public Speech
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Eun spoke publicly for the first time, declaring before a giant crowd gathered to commemorate his grandfather's 100th birthday that the country will continue putting military matters above the economy and trying to unify the Korean peninsula under the North's leadership.

Are You Overdue for a Big Payout?
Now that the economy is picking up and companies are starting to hire again, employees might be able to finally cash in on their years of recessionary sweat and sacrifice.